The Future Should Stay Dead
by Traphix
Summary: It all started with the Great Disaster, and now the world of Midgard is feeling the results, even many years after. An unknown force calls upon the only one left with the genes of the Gods' first creation. Cloud Strife finds himself in a desolate world, caught in between warring Intoners and an all too familiar lifeform trying to rebuild itself. Who can he trust?


So this is the beginning of something I've wanted to start on for weeks now and it's finally come to life. Two of my favorite worlds colliding. Before continuing, let me address a few things.

In this crossover, the Compilation of FF7 is not canon. So in terms of Cloud's characterization, you can expect the Cloud you know from the original with a bit more understanding and a little less snark. Only a little, though. In this continuity, he continued as a mercenary before the events of this story start.

Also, understand that certain liberties may have to be taken as I go along and, you'll see how that effects things as chapters release. I'll gladly be willing to rewrite certain parts of past chapters if necessary. For now, I believe the way I've connected the two worlds is believable.

Without further ado. Enjoy!

The Future Should Stay Dead

Chapter 1: And I Told Her I'm From The City

_Once upon a time, there was a handsome, young SOLDIER. This young SOLDIER had gone through hell and back to protect his friends and his world. But when his back is put against the wall, would he fight to protect…or to survive? _

_Abandon hope, ye who enter. Tread carefully in Midgard._

_**YOU. YOU'RE THE ONE. YOU. YOU. YOU.**_

That voice…whoever that voice was, he didn't know. It wasn't Zack, that's for sure. He hadn't heard voices in his head since Tifa helped clear his head up in the Lifestream. Cloud Strife opened his eyes slowly and took a look around to try and gather his surroundings.

"…Where the hell am I?"

He said as his mako-infused eyes focused on the location he was now in. To say the blonde was confused and concerned was an understatement. Before he could try and process this further, a sharp pain in his head and a ringing in his ears caused him to grip his head. Soon after, it passed and he felt much better.

He leaned up from his spot on the ground below. What was he lying on? Hard marble? His gaze turned down. Indeed, he was lying on hard marble.

Cloud looked up and saw what looked to be a vast and beautiful cityscape surrounded by water, and he seemed to be right at the outskirts of the entrance to the city. It was quite the sight to behold. The outskirts of a large, abandoned city, and at the helm of it all lied a masterfully crafted cathedral in the center, rising high into the air. It was the only part of the city that hadn't been in terrible condition.

He then looked beside him and noticed his Buster Sword lying a few feet away from him. He instantly grabbed the hilt of the blade and lifted it up, sheathing it onto his back.

"Wherever this is, it's definitely not Midgar."

This wasn't the first time he had been whisked away by some godly force to another dimension. He just wondered who or what was responsible for it this time around.

The mercenary then hopped up to his feet and took a moment to stretch and loosen his body. He was obviously a bit concerned as to where he was, but he figured standing around and panicking wouldn't get anything done at all.

"Nowhere to go but up."

And off he went, making his way into the city, the Cathedral now his planned destination. The town might look like a total wreck, but if the Cathedral in the center if all seemed to be in such pristine condition, then someone had to be staying there, right?

It was his only hope of getting some answers to his questions.

Cloud was so focused on getting to his destination, that he didn't notice a woman with glasses standing on the rooftops of one of the many broken down buildings in the area. With a curious smile, the girl closed the book in her hands.

"Anomaly detected. I certainly didn't expect this."

"Man, this place really is a damn ghost town."

As to be expected. Cloud's eyes darted around the area as he wandered the city streets, looking for signs of life that weren't there.

"Hello? Anyone here?" He said with his hands cupped around his mouth to give his words more volume. No response.

"Figured."

It was a futile attempt, he knew, but it was worth a shot. Honestly, being stuck in an absolute mess of a city filled him with this brief feeling of loneliness. It reminded him of the abandoned city of the Cetra back home. Cloud then had a thought pop up into his mind.

Was this somewhere else in Gaia?...No, it couldn't be. He wasn't an expert in geography, but he had been pretty far and wide across many different places in his adventures with his now disbanded squad, AVALANCHE. If a place as vast as this one was in Gaia, he would've been there, or at the very least, heard about it.

"What the hell is going on here?..."

Before he could take one step further, Cloud heard a low, guttural moan that alerted him immediately. He stood there silently before quickly reaching behind him and grabbing the hilt of his Buster Sword, quickly swinging the large weapon out in front of him.

Once he turned around, he noticed the who or rather what the voice belonged to. It was a humanoid looking creature, dark colored in nature, with a blue-greenish undertone to it. It appeared to have multiple marks on its body that resembled wounds one would get from a swift swing of a sword. But the one thing that stuck out the most is the symbol on its body. It appeared to be a bright blue-green DNA strand on it stomach.

The mercenary's gaze narrowed curiously as he eyed the creature. He was expecting an attack, but…nothing. The creature was just standing there…menacingly.

"I don't suppose you're the welcoming committee, right? Come to direct to me to a warm bed and some alcohol?" He said in a clear joking manner.

The creature of course did not respond. All it did was continue those awful, guttural noises that made it sound like it was pain. Slowly but surely, the monster began to move towards Cloud, taking one step forward each second. It was then that the creature held its arms out as if asking for a hug.

And in one foul swoop, the creature leaped form its position and tried to wrap itself around Cloud. Obviously, Cloud didn't take too kindly to this, quickly rolling out of the way before it could get close. Whatever this thing was and whatever it was trying to do, the blonde male didn't want at all to find out.

So it was clear what Cloud would do. He dashed across the city street, launching himself forward and swinging his blade hard at the humanoid creature, to which it responded by blocking the strike with its fists, causing a moment of clear surprise by Cloud. The monster then swung forward with a massive swipe of its claw-covered hand, aiming for the faux SOLDIER's head.

Cloud blocked the strike in return by putting his blade in front of his face to avoid its claws scraping his face apart.

"Alright, then. Let's play."

And the two closed the distance pretty quickly between each other, sword swing after sword swing meeting with claw swing after claw swing. Eventually, Cloud got the upper hand and swung his blade upwards, cutting the monster in half in one foul swoop, the creature breaking in two.

The creature, or rather what was left of it, stumbled back slowly, letting out a soft screech. And in the next second, Cloud could hear the monster utter out a short sentence, but the three words caused him to raise an eyebrow curiously.

"**Y…you are me."**

The humanoid creature then collapsed onto the ground, the remnants of its body slowing fading away and dispersing into the air like some sort of noxious gas. Cloud stared on in curiosity before standing from his current battle stance and back up to his feet, about to sheath his sword.

"Well, that was we—"

Before he could finish that sentence, the gas like substance flowed towards him in an instant and filled his lungs and entered his body. This caused Cloud's eyes to widen as he started a violent coughing fit, trying to exhale the odd substance, but to no avail, he couldn't keep it from entering his body.

He fell to his knees, still coughing hard, covering his mouth with one hand as he tried to regather himself. After a few minutes, he found himself getting over the coughing, standing up to his feet.

"What the hell…?"

Then suddenly, he felt his body…change. He couldn't explain how…but it changed somehow. He looked down at his body and let out a confused yelp as he saw it glowing a dark green for a few seconds before eventually fading away. He seemed to be fine, but what happened next filled him with concern.

He let out a gasp of pain as he felt his right shoulder burning, smoke rising from it. He winced, closing one of his eyes as he gripped his shoulder. It felt like he was being branded. After a few moments, the pain subsided. Cloud took his hand from his shoulder and looked at it, his eyes widening as he noticed a familiar sight.

The same green DNA strand that was on the gut of the creature new rested on his shoulder like a tattoo.

He didn't know what to say. He had no clue what the hell had just happened to him, but that creature clearly affected him in some way. Was he infected with some disease? He didn't feel sick. As he had thought before, he felt...oddly rejuvenated. Before he could take more time to process this, more creatures that looked similar to the one he had just killed formed a circle around him, circling him like wolves at their latest catch.

He instantly prepared his Buster Sword, his bright eyes darting around quickly, assessing the situation he was in. There were multiples of them. About six of them. He figured he could take them all, but it could become a problem trying to deal with all of them by himself. And just like the one before them, they seemed to be chanting the same thing, along with a new three letter phrase.

**You are me.**

**You are me.**

**You are me.**

**I am you. **

**I am you. **

**I am you.**

Over and over again, the world, were spoken to him by the monsters in that now familiar, raspy tone of voice, barely audible, but audible and understandable nonetheless. It seemed like this would be a problem.

Still, he did have access to a few Materia, so he wasn't completely empty handed in this fight.

But before he could try and go to town on them, someone made themselves apparent to the male, leaping from one of the nearby buildings, darting quickly across the ground and taking out the entire group of monsters in one go, their bodies dissipating into that familiar green mist that had invaded his lungs earlier…but unlike before, the mist just dissipated into nothingness, not making its home in his lungs this time around.

The blonde then took a moment to look the woman over, who had landed in front of him gracefully like a ballerina.

"Oh, dear. This is definitely an interesting occurrence. Very interesting, indeed."

The girl in question, a black-haired girl with twintails, glasses, black gloves covering her hands, and a white blouse accompanied by a black, wavy skirt and a pair of black boots that went up to her thighs. She also seemed to be carrying a very large, white briefcase with brown stripes adorning it.

"Uh…"

Cloud didn't know what to make of this, honestly. He wasn't expecting to see anyone around until he made it to the inner skirts of the city, but it seemed he was mistaken. This girl seemed to be strong too, despite her almost innocent looking demeanor. She dispatched that entire group of monsters in an instant. Just how strong was she?

The mercenary then sheathed his blade. "Thanks for the assist. But I could've taken them."

"Oh, I bet you could have, sir, but I simply couldn't be too sure."

The girl sat herself down onto her giant briefcase, one long leg crossing over the other.

"I wasn't expecting someone like you to show up here. Those creatures seemed to take quite a liking to you."

"Yeah, I figured. It was weird…I'm just minding my own business, wandering through these streets and then I ran into those things. You have any idea what the hell they were?"

"To be honest, not at all. Strange." The girl said with a cheeky smile, resting her hand on her cheek, her elbow resting upon her other arm which folded across her chest.

"I've seen them pop up before, but I had no data on them. There have been a decent amount of the same creatures popping up here, but they were taken out quickly by the Cathedral City's guards before I could take a moment to analyze them further…"

The girl went silent for a brief moment before her gaze fell directly onto Cloud. Cloud blinked curiously, wondering what she was staring at.

"…What is it?"

Accord's eyes wandered to his shoulder.

"That mark…it's the same as the ones on the monsters…"

His eyes wandered to the mark once again.

"Yeah…I don't know what the hell this is...all I know is that it just popped up on my shoulder after I killed that thing. Hell, if anything, it's a pretty badass-looking tattoo."

"It seems you are connected with them in some way."

Accord then hopped off of her briefcase, happily skipping over to Cloud, standing just a few inches away from him, leaning in almost uncomfortably close, to which the male responded by backing up a bit.

"…Who are you anyway?" Cloud asked, curiously to know more about this odd and eccentric-appearing girl.

"Accord. That is my name." She said with a small nod. "And yours?"

"…Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"Cloud Strife…Cloud Strife…"

Cloud could see the gears turning in the girl's head as she went silent for a second. She then spoke up once more.

"Tell me…are you familiar with this place?"

"Not at all—" Cloud responded. "I don't even how where the hell I am. And to tell you the truth, my memory's kinda fuzzy…"

He gripped his head, running the tips of his fingers through his blonde locks.

"I just remember…being somewhere near the Cetra's forgotten city, and then after that, everything's blank. When I woke up, I ended up here at the entrance of this city. One thing's for sure, I'm definitely not in Gaia."

"The Cetra's forgotten city…it seems my suspicions are correct."

Cloud tilted his head curiously. "Huh?"

Accord then leaned back a bit, folding her arms behind her back. "Tell me…what did you feel when that creature's mist invaded your body?"

"It was odd…it made me cough pretty bad. It filled my lungs so quickly, I couldn't breathe. It was like I was suffocating for a minute. But then, after a few minutes passed, I felt…different. Almost better."

"I see…" Accord went silent again.

"What do you think? Got any ideas about what's been causing these things to roam the place?"

"I have some ideas, but I'm afraid that information is classified."

The cheeky girl went to grab her briefcase and turn to look at Cloud.

"I'm afraid I must leave now. I have much to mull over. You are definitely an anomaly that was unaccounted for."

The mercenary raised, an eyebrow curiously. "An anomaly? What do you me—"

"Classified." Accord raised her gloved index finger in front of her lips. "We'll meet each other again, I'm sure. But know this. I am strictly a observe, and nothing more. I cannot help you again if you manage to get into another tight spot. That'll be your thread to unravel."

"You make it sound like I can't take care of myself..." Honestly, as cute as she was, there was something about this girl that was annoying him. But he decided to look past it as thanks for her help.

Accord then turned back one last time to look at Cloud, leaving him with another message.

"Tread carefully. You may have a big role to play in the future. Ta-ta!"

And with that, Accord leaped up high into the air, briefcase is now as she landed on the rooftops and darted off into the distance, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until she was no longer in Cloud's sight.

Cloud just stared into the distance quietly, looking off to the side and rubbing the back of his head a bit.

"What even am I supposed to make of that?..." This odd girl…she knew something, but wasn't telling him. He had no doubt they would indeed meet each other again soon. And however he had ended up in this place, he had an idea that his being here wasn't an accident…it was calculated. But by who…or what? He couldn't be sure.

But for now, he had other things to focus on, like getting to that tower. Maybe there, he could find his answers.

He then continued on forward, making his way closer and closer to his destination.

There was almost total silence inside the Cathedral's main hall, a place of prayer before, now changed to a simple throne room. A throne room for a petite, blonde female sitting quietly in the throne at the far end of the Cathedral, one leg crossed over the other as her fist rested gently against her cheek. Her eyes were closed as she let nothing but the sound of fire from torches and the sound of a clock hand ticking keep her company as she was lost in her thoughts.

Soon enough, a voice shook her from her brief moment of respite, to which her bright, red eyes responded to by opening to gaze upon one of the lieutenants of her personal guard, a man in a fancy looking suit of white armor. The lieutenant bowed in front of her.

"Lady One."

"Speak, lieutenant. What brings you to me?" One asked in that low, velvety voice of hers, the words flowing from her soft lips like water.

"Milady, there are reports of more sighting of those strange creatures that have been unexplainably appearing around the city. But along with that, one of our own spotted something unexpected. A large ray of white light shot down from the sky above not that long ago."

"Oh?"

"Indeed. We sent out a few troops to investigate, but before we could, more of those monsters appeared. In the distance, we saw someone making their way towards the Cathedral-"

One's eyes perked up slightly upon hearing this.

"It was not Zero, was it?" It couldn't be, she thought. There's no way her hot-blooded sister would come back only a month after being defeated like she did. Her dragon, Michael, dead and her arm lost in the process, she would need a lot more time before trying to aim an attack again. To try and do something in her current condition would be suicide. As much as One loathed her sister, she knew Zero wasn't foolish. She knew when to pick her battles.

Her lieutenant's next words reassured her thoughts. "It was not, madam. From one of the reports of our guard, it appears to be a blonde male, armed with a enormous sword on his back.

One's fingers drummed across the armrest on her throne, taking a second to process this information given to her. From what she was hearing, it was definitely someone to be curious about. No one was supposed to be here in the city but herself and her army.

"And you believe he had something to do with the large ray of light you saw shoot from the sky?" One mused.

"Perhaps. No one was close enough when it happened because no was expecting anyone to show up at all."

One was now definitely curious. Who was this mysterious person now headed to her? Could she be sure that they were an ally or a foe? Regardless, she would wait and let things develop.

"See to it that guards are placed at the gate, ready to greet our latest guest. Do not engage him in combat unless he attacks first. Bring him to me for questioning."

"As you wish, my lady."

The lieutenant left the room, focusing his attention back on his duties, leaving One to her thoughts. Was this an assassin sent by Zero? No? Only Zero would want the twisted pleasure of killing her sisters. Besides, she doubted this mystery person had the tools necessary to kill an Intoner.

"It seems things might be getting interesting…Reveal yourself to me, stranger." Said One to no one in particular.

"Not much further now."

Cloud could see the Cathedral much closer than before. After several minutes, he seemed to finally be close to reaching his destination. In the near distance, there was an opened gate leading to the main building lying at the heart of the city. Maybe finally, he would get a few answers as to what was going on.

But before he could make it any further, he saw a hound of guards make their way from both sides of the wall protecting the Cathedral. Two sets of three soldiers for a total of six lied in waiting, their weapons at the ready.

"Looks like the real welcoming committee here…"

As Cloud approached, he was told to stop in his tracks by the lead of said group.

"Halt!"

The lead soldier of the small unit, standing in the middle, made his way forward until he was a few feet away from Cloud.

"State your business here, sir. No one is to be allowed on grounds of the Cathedral City unless they are trusted personnel under Lady One."

"Lady One…?" Cloud asked as he crossed his arms behind his head, letting the name mull over in his head for a few seconds. "Never heard of her."

"What...? But she's the head of the state. The Leader of the Intoners. Surely, you've heard of her."

"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell at all. Sorry. But, regardless, I need some questions answered, if you don't mind. First of all—"

Before he could ask his question, one of the soldiers yelled, pointing at his shoulder.

"Monster! Demon! You're one of them!"

Cloud's eyes followed the soldier's line of sight, wandering straight to the mark on his arm.

"Shit. Well, about that. That's actually a funny sto—"

"Disregard Lady One's request to not attack! He's involved with them! Attack!"

"Hey, hold on—"

Before he could even bother to try and convince them to not attack, they were already upon him, each soldier rushing him with their weapons, ready to try and cut him down.

Cloud, having no other option but to defend himself, quickly backed up and unsheathed his sword, holding the blade sideways to block the first attack, a spear clashing heavily with the Buster Sword. His gaze wondered to the side and him and he saw another soldier charging at him, a battle cry emitting from his mouth.

"Well…looks like I don't have a choice."

And with that, Cloud moved on the offensive, pushing back the first guard with ease, swinging the blunt end of his sword at him, striking him across the face and sending him flying into a nearby wall. Then before the next guard could get close enough to strike, Cloud dashed forward, swinging his blade in a speedy three-hit combo, the last strike launching him into the air. Cloud followed up this attack by leaping into the air and spinning forward, swinging the Buster Sword down at the soldier while he was in the air, sending him hurdling down towards the last three as he hit the ground hard.

The impact caused a puff of smoke and rubble to appear around the area below from the strength of Cloud's attacks. Once the smoke dispersed to where he could see the rest of the soldiers, Cloud landed to the ground, lifting his hand up in the sky, a green pillar of light forming around him and disappearing almost as instantly as it appeared. Soon after, a ray of lightning bolts rained down from the heavens above and struck each remaining soldier, each letting out a scream of agony as the spell effectively put them out of commission.

"Sorry, but you guys asked for it." Cloud hoisted his mighty blade above his head, resting it upon his shoulder, looking at the mess of soldiers lying unconscious on the ground before him. He slowly tredged through the mess and made his way through the open gate, heading further down the long bridge that led to the Cathedral.

Five minutes pass, and Cloud arrived in front of the massive marvel of architecture that was the center of the city. It was quite the sight to behold up close.

"Finally made it…now, maybe I can get some answers—"

Before Cloud could continue that thought, his eyes perked at he turned his face to his side, noticing what appeared to be a large chakram quickly hurdling through the air towards him, to which he responded by quickly jumping backwards a few feet in order to avoid the weapon cleaving him in half.

"Who the hell?..."

The chakram in question quickly turned its direction and soared back into the air, up towards the rooftop of the tall building resting in the middle of the courtyard. A vambrace covered hand reached out to grab the circular blade.

"Seems my uninvited guest has finally arrived. You must have had a fun time taking out my guards."

One, the leader of the Intoners, stood at the edge of the Cathedral rooftop, gazing down at Cloud from above, those judging, red eyes narrowing as she looked him over. Quite the interesting outfit. A spaulder on his left shoulder. A large belt with an unfamiliar symbol on his waist, and a humungous sword in his hand. And he was swinging it around with the greatest of ease.

Whoever this man was, she could tell she was dealing with an experience fighter.

Cloud rested his Buster Sword onto his shoulder, walking forward a bit to get a better gaze at this girl. Rather petite in size, but he could read that she meant business. His blue-greenish eyes met hers, quietly sizing her up for a moment.

"Well, they were asking for it. I tried to get them to stop, but they didn't wanna listen, so I bodied them. After all, I was just looking for the head honcho of this place, and now, it seems I've found her. One, right?"

"And who are you, exactly? You have quite the nerve to barge in here like this, boy."

"Cloud. Cloud Strife. That's my name."

"Cloud…" One let the name roll off of her tongue for a second, her eyes homing in on the mark adorning the upper part of the male's right arm. It was upon seeing that that made the petite Intoner to leap from the building rooftop and dash forward through the sky, letting out a hearty battle cry before swinging her chakram with the intent to kill the male in front of her. Cloud, not letting himself get caught off guard again, quickly brought his sword up to clash with the round, sharp edge of One's weapon. Her speed was impeccable. He knew from the moment he locked eyes with her that she wasn't going to be an easy opponent to deal with, but this was far beyond what he had dealt with before regarding her soldiers.

The power of that strike was something serious. He had to struggle not to be pushed back from the spot he was currently in.

"Are you responsible for the monsters appearing around the city?"

"What?"

"Answer me!" One pressed harder against Cloud's blade, to which he responded by pushing back with even more strength, the two locked in a stalemate for the moment.

"Listen, you've got the wrong…guy!"

With a grunt of strength, the faux 1st Class SOLDIER forced One back with a mighty push of his sword, causing her to leap back a few feet to create some distance between the two.

"Then explain that mark. You've clearly got something to do with them. Tell me the truth or I will cut you down where you stand." One said, getting into a quick battle stance, ready to strike again.

"You'll have to kill me to beat me, toots. I'm not going down anytime soon." Cloud seeing that there would be no reasoning against her quickly dashed towards his opponent and launched a quick barrage of strong, yet swift slashes of his weapon.

One, being ever resilient, clashed tough with every strike, blow for blow, matching her fellow blonde in speed, until at the last minute, Cloud managed to get in one good strike to the girl's arm, which she retaliated by aiming a blow for the male's shoulder, right where the mark was. Each strike caused both combatants to back up a bit before going at each other again.

"You're tough, aren't you? Cloud Strife. No human has ever been able to keep up with me in combat, much less cut me. I haven't felt blows this strong since—"

One stopped herself. She felt no need to bring up _her _name. The coward. Just thinking of that woman made her sick.

"You appear to be human, but it seems you're aren't just any normal human. Therefore..."

Sword clashed with chakram, the two fighters locked in a stalemate a second time.

"If you're this strong…then…"

"What the—"

One's song echoed deep within Cloud's mind, causing him to stop in his tracks. He gritted his teeth, the immense pressure of the notes blasting him backwards, sending him hurdling to the ground. Cloud rolled along the ground a few times before coming to a halt.

This was something new to him altogether. Cloud struggled to get up to his feet, trying to move forward, but still unable to gain much ground. The chaotic tone of One's song rang deep in his ears and stuck to his head like glue, the male practically petrified underneath the might of her ballad.

"This…is…this is…"

Cloud felt he was fading fast, but still stayed upright for a bit longer, now down on one knee. He felt like his body was being ripped apart all the way down to a molecular level almost. The song stuck like needles underneath his skin. He had never felt such strength and pressure like this before. And as he turned his gaze forward, all he saw past the ripples in the air One's song was making, was the Intoner herself, slowing marching forward, her gaze locked so intently on Cloud, she might as have been staring a hole through him.

"Submit…"

"Go…to hell…" Cloud spoke, ever defiant, not backing down even under this mighty power before him.

"Fine. I'll make you talk. You'll sing for me soon enough." One spoke, slowly lifting up her hand in front of her, holding it in place for a few seconds. And immediately afterwards, her song ended in a abrupt halt, the final notes dispersing into a large burst, causing Cloud to let out a loud yell of pain before slowly collapsing forward and hitting the ground below hard, passing out.

Silence filled the area around them. Nothing but the soft, subtle blow of the wind accompanied One as she stepped forward, marching until she was right in front of Cloud. She then kneeled in front of him, pressing her index finger and middle finger to his neck, checking for a pulse. Once she found one, she stood back up on her feet.

"As I figured. Any normal human would have been crushed underneath the power of my song, killed in a matter of seconds. But you…"

"Lady One!"

One's attention turned to the unit of soldiers now making their way towards her.

"Lady One! We saw all the commotion. Are you alright?" One of the guards spoke.

"Of course." Her gaze then fell back onto the unconscious male beside her. She then turned on her heel and began walking in the direction of the Cathedral's entrance.

"Carry this man into the keep and place him in chains at the underground cell. Tell one of my servants to bring his weapon brought directly to my quarters."

"Uh, yes. Understood, my lady." Said the lead guard of the unit before rushing over to the grip Cloud by the shoulders, lifting her upper body off the ground. The other soldiers followed suit, each helping to lift the blonde onto their shoulders, carrying him over their heads towards the keep.

"_I'll have my answers soon enough…things are about to change from here on out." _One mused in her head. Silence ensued.

**You must stay alive. Stay alive. I need you.**

**I need you.**

**I need.**

**I**

**YOU.**

There was that voice again in the haunting tone. Cloud's eyes slowly opened, blinking a bit to let his adjust before he took a quick look around. It was rather dark, save for two candles that were light, resting on the walls. He noticed that he was lying on a small pallet on the cold, hard floor. He was trapped in a small cell room, the light from the candle reflecting on the bars that kept him in captivity. And his Buster Sword was nowhere to be seen, clearly taken by the guards.

"Figures…just my luck to get mixed up in this."

Cloud sat himself up and leaned back against the nearby wall, crossing his arms over his chest. The blonde took another glance at the cell. Cobwebs covered the ceiling corners of the rooms and dust, the bottom corners. He could tell from its condition that nobody had been down here in a long while.

He wasn't going to be able to bend the hard metal bars apart or bust through the hard concrete like some savage beast, and not having his sword only made things worse. For the time being, he was completely stuck here, now at the mercy of One.

"One…"

Cloud's mind suddenly wandered to the petite Intoner, and how that ability of hers had completely subdued him. He had never experienced any sort of force like that ever before. It felt like he was going to be flattened. He didn't know whether it was endurance or just sheer willpower that kept him from being reduced to nothing at the hands of her song.

Regardless, he was here, alive. And he would see her again soon. This he knew. He wondered just what the hell had brought him and why. Before this, he was just fine living a regular mercenary's life after him and his friends defeated Sephiroth and saved the planet from total subjugation by the hand of the faux god.

His friends.

He hadn't seen them in a long while since they split up the group after the end of their journey one year ago, everyone pursuing their own business in lives. Cloud hoped they were truly doing well. Did they even know he was gone? Tifa, Barret, Nanaki, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent…he missed them, he really did. The mercenary wondered what they would do if they were in this situation.

He usually had no issue rolling solo when he was in Gaia because he knew he could always give them a call and he could find them, no matter how long it took to reach them. But now since he was stuck in some place that clearly wasn't anywhere on Gaia, he felt a sense of crushing loneliness.

"….."

No. What was he thinking? He couldn't sit here and mope around. What would they all say if they found him thinking like this? Everything would be alright.

Everything would be alright, he had to reassure him. He was sure he could find his way back home sometime. How far away that was? Who knew? But he was sure of it. But for now, it seemed this unfamiliar place would be his home for the time being. Besides, there's still the matter of the creatures running rampant across this place. And why he was now sporting a DNA strand mark on his shoulder. His eyes glanced at the mark for a moment.

Everything was silent. The SOLDIER let his mind wander some more before he heard a door open, which shook him from his thoughts, his gaze turning to the direction from which he heard the noise. He saw another of One's guards making their way in, walking towards the cell bars and using a key to open the door.

"Lady One has requested your presence, peasant. Honestly, how you survived, I don't know." The guard said with a distasteful tone, hatred clear for anyone disrupting his lady.

"Chill out, douchebag. Your precious Lady One should have the guts to get me herself instead of bringing her Tin Man to do the job."

"Watch your tongue. You're at the mercy of her Ladyship now. Come quietly."

Cloud looked out of the corner of his eye and noticed that there were a few guards standing at the ready on the outside of the entrance to the cell. Three in them in total. Cloud knew he had the strength to deal with them, but he wasn't highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat like Tifa was, and he had no gun to try and pierce the soldiers' armor like Barrett. And even if he could fight, there would be the issue of dealing with One again.

As much as he wanted to bust out of this joint on his own, it seemed he would have to follow through on their terms for now.

"Fine. But let me walk on my own. Any of you try to drag me there, and I make sure you never walk again."

Not responding to the threat Cloud put on the table, the guard, after using a key, slowly opened the cell gate, allowing Cloud to walk out on his own, the two guards following him on either side and the one who released him walking a few steps in front of him.

Cloud's eyes wandered to the dimly lit corridor, the darkness and shadow plentiful in every corner. He couldn't imagine being locked up here for such a long time. Soon enough, the group reached the staircase that led upwards to the upper floor of the Cathedral, which they slowly traversed up, silence filling the area save for the clinking of the armor on the soldiers as their boots clapped upon the hard concrete.

Once he was out of the lower floor and back in the main hall of the Cathedral, the guards directed him back to the throne at the far end of the large room. And there, in her throne, sat One, her fingers tapping slowly upon the throne's armrest as her other arm rested firmly on her cheek, providing a rest for her to lean on.

"We've brought him here as requested, your Ladyship."

"Excellent." One's crimson eyes met Cloud's soulful blues once again, the same intensity in his gaze evident by the look on his face as he stared back. They remained in silence for a brief moment before One spoke up.

"Leave us…I'll take control of him for now. Return to your duties." She told the guards, who all gave a simple nod without a word and walked towards the entrance, leaving the two blondes to stare each other down even more.

"...I don't suppose I'll be getting my sword back anytime soon?" Cloud mused on his precious blade.

"Hmm…perhaps. I'll consider it. But for the moment, you do not need it. For we have much to discuss…Cloud Strife."

"I really don't like how you stare at me with that look of yours. It's like your judging and looking down on me every second." Cloud said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "But since I'm at your 'mercy' as your three stooges so kindly reminded me, I guess I gotta rap with you for a bit. So let's shoot. What's on your mind?"

"First things first," the intoner said as she leaned forward, hands now clasped together in front of her face, covering her lips.

"You're aware of the creatures that have been appearing all over the Cathedral City. All of them bare that symbol that currently rests on your shoulder." The mention of the mark causes Cloud to look over at it.

"It's a pretty cool looking tattoo, at least." Cloud said, stretching out his arm to the side.

"Whether you want it or not, you're connected to these creatures in some way. Tell me, how did this mark find its way onto you?"

The mercenary took a second to recall the moment. "It was odd. It all happened so fast, you know? After I woke up on the outskirts of the city, I decided to try and go deeper to find someone who knew this place better than I did. And before I could get too far, I ran into one of them. It caught me off guard the first few seconds, but I made quick work of it afterwards. But then…"

One listened in curiously.

"After it was fading away into this funky green mist, it all suddenly rushed me and filled my lungs. It was all so sudden, I ended up coughing so much, and I felt like I couldn't breathe."

Cloud lifted a hand to place it on his chest.

"It felt like…like the Grim Reaper entered my lungs in the form of a noxious gas. Then after a minute…it passed. Almost in an instant, I felt better. I felt…stronger. Faster. Like I could go ten rounds in a fighting ring. It was brief, but it was like a high. A rush I hadn't felt before in my life. And I've had plenty of adrenaline rushes before in my twenty-one years…"

"I see…and afterwards, that's when the mark appeared?"

"Yeah. I don't know what's going on here…but now I'm involved in this. Whatever 'this' is." He lifted his hand from his chest, turning his gaze back to his fellow blonde. "What's going on that dome of yours, huh?"

"Curiosity, Cloud Strife. Curiosity of your capabilities. I wonder just what exactly you've gone through."

One leaned back once again in her throne. "You're the only human that has been able to withstand my Song for that long, much less to _survive _under its immense pressure. In the unfortunate times I've had to use it forcefully, anyone who wasn't an Intoner that heard it has either been pulled apart muscle by muscle, reduced to nothing but a pile of flesh. And on the off chance they do survive, they are left as nothing more but husks, driven mad by the chaotic sound my Song brings."

The girl reached out to point her finger at the male before him.

"And you escaped with minimal damage, only falling unconscious for a few hours. That, by all means, should be literally impossible. And yet, here you are in my custody, safe and sound."

Cloud took a moment to process this information. He didn't know what to think. One day, he ends up here in this vast world only having been for close to twelve hours and now, he's found out that he has more connection to this place than he first thought.

"But what does all this mean? What could I possibly have to do here? This isn't even the same world I'm from! It doesn't make any sense." The male took a moment to let his mind focus on his current situation.

"I realize this could be a stressful situation for you, no doubt, but it's the situation you're in, nonetheless. If you are from another plane of existence different from this one, then that would only further proves the validity of the Multiple World Divergence Phenomenon."

"The Multiple World Divergence Phenomenon? First off, that's a long name. Second of all, you think that has a hand in this?"

"Indeed. The details aren't all there, but it's definitely something to look into. There's no telling how many worlds have been affected by this…and if more are continuing to be affected even at this very moment. Of course, my knowledge on the subject is limited as there's only so many past records on the Old World's happenings."

"I see…so what do you suppose we do from here?"

"I will figure that now on tomorrow's beginning. For the moment, it is nighttime and I wish to have some time to clear my thoughts and compile more information. I see that you are not of evil intentions…at first glance. So as a precautionary measure, my servant Illiyana will lead you to a spare room in the upper ranks for rest, but will be keeping watch over you from time to time."

"Not sure I like the idea of being babysit, but I'm in no place argue, am I? Alright, sounds good." Cloud said as he yawned and stretched his arms. "A good night's sleep sounds really good right about now. I think I've earned it."

Upon saying that, One's trusted servant, Illiyana, bowed to him, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Right this way, sir." Said the servant as he turned to direct him to his room, which Cloud responded to by following behind.

"There's a meal already prepared for you in your room, sir Cloud. You must be hungry."

"Don't I know it…"

After Cloud was out of One's sight, she stood up from her throne , making her way to the keep's library. The history on it was so minimal, it might as well been nothing but an urban legend. But now, she was sure he had something to do with it.

Before leaving out of the main hall to head for the library, a small blow of air from her soft lips to the nearby candle, leaving a part the entrance to the hall in darkness. And in that instant, she muttered one word in a quiet whisper, the sound of the same like poison on her tongue.

"…Jenova."


End file.
